NCUA Reviewing Federal Pay Freeze

NCUA Public Affairs Specialist John Fairbanks said Friday the agency is reviewing the spending bill passed by Congress this week to determine how the federal pay freeze, included in H.R. 933, will apply to the agency’s employees and budget.

The Senate passed the $984 billion spending bill Wednesday by a 73-26 vote and the House passed it Thursday 318-109. It now awaits President Barack Obama’s signature. Obama has expressed disappointment with the pay freeze but has not threatened to veto it. The bill will fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.

The NCUA’s 2013 budget includes a 7.5% increase in employee pay and benefits, which reflected the possibility of a federal employee pay raise. However, the agency said when it unveiled the budget in November 2012 that the raise was subject to Congressional approval.

Chairman Debbie Matz said if Congress did not approve the pay increase, the budgeted amount – as much as $9 million – would be returned at the board’s mid-year budget review in July.

This is the third consecutive year some NCUA employees have not received a pay increase. Obama is expected to propose a 1% federal pay increase in his 2014 budget, which has not yet been released.